There’s nothing easier than making a quick video to plus into your website or presentations, is there?

Or is there?

In fact, making a video that’s going to do justice to both your message and your company isn’t quite that easy. And the single most important part of your video actually comes before you even start filming anything at all – the storyboard.

For those of you who now what a storyboard is, maybe you don’t need this advice. But for those of you who don’t or want to know more, read on.

A storyboard can come in varying degrees of complexity, from a simple outline to a full-blown set of hand-drawn animation sheets, but it’s purpose is always the same: to tell the film crew exactly what they’re going to film and how it’s going to be stitched together to form the final video or movie product. It’s like a blueprint for the video that everyone involved in the production process will work from, and gives the video it’s subject, content, storyline and soul.

However simple you may think your video may be, you still need a storyboard. It’s the only way you can be sure that you’re going to film everything you need (yes, it’s easy to forget to shoot something you’ll find out you want later on) and the only way you can be sure that it’s all going to fit together coherently. In its simplest form, the story board outlines what’s going to be on screen in each ‘scene’, what’s going to be said either by the voice over or the people on screen at the time, and any captions or animations that need to be included in the scene. It breaks up your video into small, manageable and editable sections that give you the flexibility and insight to do the job properly and end up with the best product you can. If you haven’t got your storyboard ready, don’t start filming – would you set off on a long trek without a map or try a new recipe without the list of ingredients?

It’s worth taking the time to organize your video’s key elements and structure with a storyboard, and you’ll really see the difference if you do.

If you’d like help with thinking through the content and structure of your video project, however big or small, contact CFT Concepts on +33 (0)6 15 38 80 92 or info@cftconcepts.com.